Not performing well on DAT Bootcamp practice tests, need advice.

[RamsFan1991]

It's 5 days until my DAT exam and for my first 3 DAT Bootcamp practice tests I have consistently scored 18-20 in Bio and 15-16 in Gen Chem and Orgo. This is really alarming, and I've lost a lot of confidence because when I went through Chad's for review I felt like I was really understanding it all. I'm honestly at a loss for what to do next. I've barely touched DAT Destroyer so I feel like going through any of that would be a waste due to lack of time.

I'm thinking I need to spend the next couple days rewatching Chad's videos and condensing my 50+ pages per subject of notes into 2-5 page "cheat sheets" that have very very simple explanations and formulas, especially for Gen Chem. I made notecards of all the Orgo reactions that Chad made into an outline (the 11 page one with all the reactions he listed) Please help, any advice appreciated. 🙁

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[shyfox9p]

My exam is also in 5 days. However, If I was in your position, I would postpone the exam. I'm scoring a lot higher than you, but it's because I've gone through destroyer twice and spent time going over why I got certain problems wrong. If you don't want to postpone it, maybe get qvault and see what areas you are weak on and just focus on that. You don't really have time to rewrite your notes. Focus on what you're getting wrong, write notes on that, and then review it. Don't let the scores bother you though. They only determine what you got right and wrong. They are not a measure of what you actually know. There are people here who have gotten similar scores on bootcamp (although they wrote notes on what they missed) and got a lot higher on the real thing. Best of luck and it's better to miss questions now and understand why you missed them then to miss them next week. Chin up, you're almost there.

 

[RamsFan1991]

I just took a sample free Qvault Gen chem practice since I don't own it, and I don't know if it's supposed to be easier than the real DAT or what but I got a 19, so I am really confused. I am really considering moving my test date but damn is it expensive... I feel like if I keep delaying I will get no where with it. I think I will go back and look through the entire Unit 5 for Chad's videos cause I think I am having most trouble keeping stuff like Ksp and Keq, acids and base concepts straight in my head. I wrote detailed notes on my DAT Bootcamp exams after I did them and going back through Test 1 and 2 I am getting all the questions right while making sure to actually solve for the answer instead of just memorizing the right answer.

Do you think I should purchase qVault and just keep doing practice tests and learning from mistakes until my exam date?

 

[Lmaes2692]

I am also going through the same issue. I already did destroyer twice. Idk why bootcamp is so hard for me.

 

[shyfox9p]

I just took a sample free Qvault Gen chem practice since I don't own it, and I don't know if it's supposed to be easier than the real DAT or what but I got a 19, so I am really confused. I am really considering moving my test date but damn is it expensive... I feel like if I keep delaying I will get no where with it. I think I will go back and look through the entire Unit 5 for Chad's videos cause I think I am having most trouble keeping stuff like Ksp and Keq, acids and base concepts straight in my head. I wrote detailed notes on my DAT Bootcamp exams after I did them and going back through Test 1 and 2 I am getting all the questions right while making sure to actually solve for the answer instead of just memorizing the right answer.

Do you think I should purchase qVault and just keep doing practice tests and learning from mistakes until my exam date?

Everyone wants to postpone their exam. I'm averaging about 20s in everything except RC and gen chem. However, I feel like I'm a few weeks ahead of you in terms of amount studying (I started May 12th). If you're not understanding Ksp, Keq, Kc, watch this:
I know everyone loves chad and his video (I liked them), but there are other people on youtube that do a better job explaining things on certain topics. If you finished bootcamp, than yah, get qVault and write notes on what you get wrong, what you have doubts on, and what you guessed on. There is no point in cheating yourself. You have time, but I probably wouldn't consider taking the previous day off.

 

[jwan14]

Shyfox9...what are you scoring on bootcamp if you don't mind me asking? Mine are...(first time/second time)

Bio 22/21/18/21/23
30/29/27/25/30
Gchem 18/21/21/20/21
22/25/30/22/30
Ochem 19/19/18/30/20
22/27/25/26/30
PAT 18/18/19/20/19
RC 19/21/20/
QR 19/20/19/18/19
19/25/22/23/

Take my test on Tuesday.

 

[chemkay]

@jwan14 : you are going to be fine if you actually know the concepts and didn't just memorize the answers 🙂 good scores.

 

[shyfox9p]

Nice scores man! I think you're ready for the test. I didn't write down my scores for my first exams (I thought the site saved them lol).
Bio- _21, 18, 18,20
Orgo- _17,19, 20, 20
Gen chem: _, _, 19,18,19
QR-22,20
RC- 18,18,19
I took a test each day so I didn't really expect to see dramatic improvements. I kind of used them to find my weak spots and focus on that. I have about 30 pages of notes just from bootcamp.
I haven't taken a PAT from their site yet but on CTD, I've been able to get 20s consistently.

 

[jwan14]

Thank you. I'd actually highly recommend taking the bootcamp PAT tests. They are definitely harder than any other PAT tests I've tried (Kaplan, Qvault, CDP) which I feel helps prepare me better.

 

[shyfox9p]

Thank you. I'd actually highly recommend taking the bootcamp PAT tests. They are definitely harder than any other PAT tests I've tried (Kaplan, Qvault, CDP) which I feel helps prepare me better.

Thanks for the input. I'm gonna try bootcamp's tomorrow then. Best of luck on your test Tuesday.

 

[shyfox9p]

I've only done destroyer and bootcamp and I keep averaging 20s. I did my research and a lot of people say Destroyer is the way to go. I hope that's true though lol

 

[shyfox9p]

Math destroyer.

 

[shaidester]

@jwan14 : you are going to be fine if you actually know the concepts and didn't just memorize the answers 🙂 good scores.

👍

But if you are scoring 15-16 in GC and Orgo, I would be worried. I averaged scores of 21 on bootcamp's orgo but on the actual thing I got 27. For gen chem, I averaged 19 on bootcamp but on the actual thing it was much easier and I got a 23. What I found effective was to rewatch chad's videos over the course of my two months of studying every two weeks.

 

[Lmaes2692]

I honestly find destroyer easier idk if it's the wording but I'm getting destroyed by BC

 

[shyfox9p]

The more sources you're exposed to, the better you'll be prepared.

 

[AliceF]

Where on chad can I get that 11 pages reactions? I cant find it...

 

[Dotoday]

If you have 5 days, you have time. After Chads go through Destroyer. That is how you check your knowledge. Pay attention to solutions and study them. If you feel like you cannot understand them, you might have jumped the gun and scheduled a test too soon.

 

[rdd215]

Keep in mind that Bootcamp warns you that their math section IS harder than the actual DAT. I have noticed that people scored about 2-3 points higher on the actual DAT compared to their Bootcamp scores.